Remove Metadata From a PDF (Author, Title, Dates)
Short answer: open the PDF in any reader, look at File → Properties (or press Ctrl+D), and see what it says about you. Then strip those fields — our PDF Compressor does it automatically, in your browser, without uploading a byte. This is the difference between a file that just looks clean and one that actually is.
Why you should care
The most common way people leak is a PDF that looks "clean" to them and gives the recipient their name, company, phone number, and the exact Word version that made it — not because they typed it into the document, but because the file remembers. Three situations where this actually bites:
- CV / résumé sent to a recruiter: file Properties says "Prepared by Fatima R., HR Manager, Acme Corp" even when the CV says only your name.
- A signed NDA or proposal: the counterparty's legal team can see you drafted it at 2 AM on a personal laptop.
- A scanned lease: the scanner software's name, serial number, or network name in XMP.
None of this is paranoia. Metadata exists so documents can be tracked and versioned — which is exactly what you don't want on an outbound file.
Step-by-step: check it, then strip it
- Open the PDF in any reader — Chrome and Edge (Ctrl/Cmd+I), Acrobat Reader (Ctrl+D), Preview on Mac (Cmd+I). You're looking at the same five fields every time.
- Note what you see. Author, Title, Creator, Producer, Dates. If any of those contain something you wouldn't want the recipient to know, you need to strip them.
- Strip it. The fastest way: drop the file into our PDF Compressor. It drops every metadata field as part of compression — one click, no upload. If you don't want to compress, use Print to PDF from any reader: the new file inherits nothing from the old one's description fields.
- Re-open the stripped file and confirm the fields are blank (or contain only what you choose to put there).
What metadata actually holds
| Field | What it says | Risk |
|---|---|---|
| Author | The user account that made the file (often "jsmith" or your full name) | Real name, employer, sometimes employee ID |
| Title | The document title field — often from the original Word/Excel save name | Reveals the project name, client, or deal title |
| Creator | The app that created the source (e.g. "Microsoft Word 16.0 for Microsoft 365") | Discloses your software stack — fine for most, bad for NDA |
| Producer | The app that produced the PDF (e.g. "Adobe PDF Library 15") | Often harmless; still identifies corporate scanning |
| Created / Modified | Timestamps of when the file was made and last edited | Reveals your work pattern: 2 AM bursts, weekend edits |
| XMP fields | Company, department, document ID, workflow stage, sometimes GPS | The deepest leak — scanner serials, network paths, embedded thumbnails |
What metadata does NOT contain
Metadata is the description of the file — bookmarks, keywords, author info. It is not the hidden text beneath a black redaction bar (that's what the Redact tool is for), it is not an embedded thumbnail (which can contain the previous version's first page), and it is not a digital signature's certificate. Stripping metadata does not make a hidden black bar safe — it just removes the name tag.
FAQ
Can I strip metadata from a scanned PDF?
Yes — same fields exist on image-based PDFs. They're often blank already (a scanner doesn't know your name), but Creator/Producer and serial numbers may still be there. Print to PDF or run our compressor and they're gone either way.
How do I check on a Mac?
Open the PDF in Preview. Press Cmd+I. You'll see Title, Author, Subject, Keywords. That's it — the summary view hides dates and software; use Adobe Acrobat Reader for the full XMP dump (Cmd+I shows all fields).
Is stripping metadata the same as redacting?
No. Redaction removes content so it can't be recovered — metadata stripping only touches the description fields. Do both if the document contains anything sensitive: strip the metadata, then redact the actual text.
What if I need to keep author info?
Then leave it. Stripping is opt-in. Some workflows — legal filings, signed contracts, archival — actually require the original metadata. The point isn't "always strip" — it's "know what you're sending".
Bottom line: open Properties before you hit send. If the file knows something you don't want known, our PDF Compressor drops it in one pass. For hidden text under black bars, use Redact PDF. For location data in photos inside a PDF, see EXIF Remover.